You will sleep above 4,000 m for seven nights and stand on 5,545 m for one dawn. Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is the single most common reason trekkers turn back on this route — and the single thing our 28-day schedule is most carefully designed to prevent.
“Slowness is not a luxury at altitude — it is the medicine.”
How we manage altitude
We follow the conservative “climb high, sleep low” principle, with three full acclimatisation days woven into the itinerary (Namche, Dingboche, and the Gokyo arc). Your lead guide takes pulse-oximetry readings every morning above 3,500 m. Anyone showing SpO₂ below 80 % or symptoms of HACE/HAPE is descended immediately — no negotiation.
What you should do before you fly
Book a pre-trip consultation with a travel-medicine clinic at home. Discuss Diamox (acetazolamide) — many of our travellers carry a prophylactic course. Avoid alcohol on the flight, hydrate aggressively from day one, and sleep before the Lukla flight. Our pre-trip pack covers all of this in writing.
The medical safety net
Every team carries a satellite phone and a high-altitude pharmacy kit. We have a pre-negotiated helicopter evacuation arrangement with our partner in Lukla, with a one-hour standby in daylight hours. In 20 years and 2,400+ travellers, our serious-evacuation rate is below 0.4 %.